In this weekly feature, the editorial board celebrates successes across our region and calls out those who stand in the way of progress.

Thumbs up

Buy Photo

Sen. Sherrod Brown talks to a small group at the Hyatt Hotel in Florence, S.C. Friday, March 1, 2019. (Photo: The Enquirer/Meg Vogel)

Sen. Sherrod Brown's decision to stay in the U.S. Senate and not seek the White House was a smart one. Brown's seat is an important one for Democrats in a pivotal swing state. If Brown ran and won, Democrats would almost certainly lose the seat as Republican Gov. Mike DeWine could appoint his replacement. Brown once told this editorial board that unlike many of his colleagues in the Senate, he never really aspired to be president. And while he would have made for a good presidential candidate, it would have been a test for him to emerge on top of a crowded field of Democratic challengers. Brown will continue to serve his party, Ohio and the country best where he's at.

Buy Photo

For video: The Cincinnati Bell Connector makes its way across 12th street at Vine in Over-the-Rhine. The streetcar was launched September 9, 2016. Ridership has steadily declined.(Photo: Liz Dufour/The Enquirer)

Cincinnati finally has its "one neck to choke" streetcar czar, though some have called the selection a "curious hire" because of his lack of transit experience. It's too soon to pass judgment on whether Travis Jeric, an attorney and real estate agent, according to his LinkedIn page, is up to the task. Let's just be glad for now that the city finally has someone in place. Meanwhile, here's hoping Jeric is exercising his neck muscles.

Sen. Rob Portman pauses for a reporter's question as he arrives at a closed-door GOP strategy session on the Republican health care overhaul on June 20, 2017.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

When Sen. Rob Portman learned that one of his campaign donors was accused of soliciting prostitution in a Florida human trafficking investigation, the Terrace Park Republican donated the money to a number of groups throughout Ohio that support trafficking survivors. Billionaire John W. Childs gave Portman $5,400 for his re-election campaign in 2015 and $100,000 to a political action committee founded to support his re-election. Childs stands accused of soliciting prostitution in the same sex trafficking investigation that entangled New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Portman's decision to give Childs' contributions to charity is consistent with his longstanding public crusade against online sex trafficking.

Buy Photo

Mon., Feb. 12, 2018: St. Xavier High School in Finneytown. The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran(Photo: The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran)

Kudos to St. Xavier High School for its efforts to create a drug-free campus. The Catholic Jesuit high school will begin drug testing students this fall as part of its ongoing health and wellness program. The tests can detect cocaine, opiates, PCP, amphetamines, marijuana and Adderall. School officials said they are "exploring" alcohol testing as well, but at the moment it remains too costly. Drugs are an issue that every community and every school faces. It's good to see St. X taking a proactive approach to keeping its student body as clean, safe and healthy as possible.

Thumbs down

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. State cuts to cities and counties since 2009 have resulted in local budget cuts and higher taxes for some.(Photo: Provided)

Ohio legislators got a lesson in the dangers of last-minute lawmaking when they tried to expand access to certain guns, but wound up accidentally banning them. House Bill 228 passed in late December and amid its many revisions a paragraph was misplaced. The result was some long guns were inadvertently lumped into a banned category. The error forced lawmakers to introduce a corrective bill and vote to implement it immediately before HB 228 takes effect on March 28. A sense of urgency is great, but let's hope legislators are more thorough and less hurried with bills so they can avoid future misfires.

Former Lincoln Heights village manager, Rebecca Hopkins, was fortunate to get off with only five years probation for illegally using a village credit card for herself at businesses including Amazon, Walmart and Kings Island. Hopkins abused her power and the public's trust when she used the credit card to make 478 inappropriate purchases from October 2016 to June 2018. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Lisa Allen ordered Hopkins to repay $61,000 to Lincoln Heights. She should count herself lucky the judge spared her the inside of a jail cell, which would have been more than a fitting punishment.

Saraswati Kharel, a Nepalese-American, said a proposed Asian grocery store near her home would have made running errands more convenient. But Fairfield City Council rejected the store. The mayor said residents "obviously" opposed it. Kharel is pictured with her 11-year-old daughter, Salina.(Photo: Max Londberg)

Fairfield City Council's recent rejection of an Asian grocery store sends all the wrong messages about whether or not the city is inclusive. Narayan Dhungel, a longtime grocer and native of Nepal, said his proposal to convert a long-vacant former office building into a grocery to service the area's Nepalese-American population was met with outrage and flimsy arguments. Some fear racism motivated the opposition. Most cities welcome business with open arms, particularly if it means jobs or filling a need in the community. Over the years, Fairfield has struggled with a reputation for not being inviting to diversity. This questionable decision by council does nothing to erase that perception.